ProQ BRISKET WALKTHROUGH
For this cook I used a 3.7kg Brisket from Palfrey & Hall butchers in Debenham / Stowmarket. It was a UK grass fed Dexter X Wagyu cow.
Fill the ProQ basket with charcoal - I used BigK Cocoshells. A whole bag fitted into the basket and left around 8-10 briquettes to use in the chimney starter. I always use BigK Woodies to light the starter (you only need 1 - untwist it slightly before lighting)
Also you need to cover the water bowl in tin foil. You will get a lot of juice dripping into the bowl and without the foil this makes for a really nasty clean up.
Once you’ve lit the chimney and dumped it into the ProQ you can put the bowl in the bottom hooks above the fire, and then place your cooking grate into the top stacker to place the brisket on.
Have all the vents top and bottom wide open.
My ProQ temperature gauge sits at around 150c with this set up. I don’t fuss too much over the cooking temperatures.
This is a “hot n fast” recipe so you don’t need to try and keep temps down in the smoker.
Depending on outside temperature on the day , wind speeds , this can all fluctuate but don’t panic too much. If you think the smoker is getting too hot just completely close one bottom vent and wait 15 minutes to see how that affects the temperatures.
Cover your brisket liberally with Brew & Brisket seasoning - No binder for this one just straight in with the rub.
If your brisket is too big to get into the ProQ again don’t panic! Find a chunk of wood you can place underneath the brisket. After an hour or so of cooking you’ll be able to remove the wood as the brisket will shrink.
Pop a couple of small chunks of wood (I used Oak) in with the coals and cook the brisket until the rub is set (so you can’t rub it completely off with your finger) You can keep topping the wood up roughly every hour until you wrap it.
Once the rub is set and the brisket is around 65c internal temperature - again this is a rough estimate and doesn’t matter if a little sooner or later.
Remove the brisket and completely wrap it in tin foil. Splash some beef stock in the wrap and close it up and place back on the smoker.
You will know when the brisket is done as your thermometer will go into the meat with minimal resistance “probes like butter” a rough temperature to aim for is 95c . It could take a little longer and some briskets will need to probe over 100c before soft. Just go by feel - trust your judgement!
When you think your done. Take the brisket off the smoker, open up the wrap and remove all the juice. Let the brisket steam out of the wrap for a minute then wrap it back up. If you have a cool box place it inside the cool box wrapped in the tin foil and also an old towel you don’t mind getting brisket juice on.
Leave for as long as you possibly can resist the goodness. A good few hours.
Once rested slice the flat into slices and point end into cubes for the burnt ends (recipe to follow)
We serve ours with brioche buns, coleslaw, pickles and Mac n Cheese from the Anna Mae recipe book.
Enjoy!
If you ever have any questions on a recipe - feel free to drop me a message on email norfolksmokepit@gmail.com or on Facebook messenger and I will see what I can do to help you along your BBQ journey.
Poppy :)